It must be tough to be a compensated video game journalist. It must be incredibly difficult to get out of your “sleep number” bed every morning and slog over to your video game console and turn it on. Wow, I can’t even imagine the pure will to live it must take to Twitter your every move to slobbering fans and *gasp* write about video games all day.
But a score of these proud heroes do it every day. Thank God. Above that, someone at GDC had the sense to assemble some of the more notable names in “Video Game Journalism” to share with us exactly what’s wrong with the gaming industry, including gaming journalism itself. All I have to say, is that it’s about time!
More sarcasm and incredulity, after the jump.
Essentially you have N’Gai, Leigh Alexander, Adam Sessler (already this sounds like the setup to a bad joke), Stephen Totillo and “Smartbomb’s” author Heather Chaplin, all of whom competed to use enormous words and poetic verse to out-do each other in ranting the day away about “the industry.”
I think the most well-thought-out remarks came from Chaplin, who railed against the industry as being overly-dominated by men. She also criticized the industry for using its youth as an excuse for being juvenile and essentially testosteronified-to-the-max dude.
Her focus seemed to be that games aren’t moving away from being “power fantasies”. Essentially calling them ways for dudes to get their rocks of doing things they might never otherwise experience.
I’d really like to hear her ideas for games that are more female-friendly. Furthermore, I would like to know why she doesn’t think women enjoy the games that are “power fantasies”.
Would Miss Chaplin like to imply that women only enjoy love story games or shopping platformers? Maybe “50%-off Fever” on the Wii? If I were a woman, and I’ve been accused of being one by several of my close friends who accessed my iPod without permission, I would resent the insinuation that Gears of War 2 exists totally for the fantasies of men. What woman in the world wouldn’t want to play a game where hulking men, who apparently do nothing but kill things and work out, run around carrying large phallic weapons and grunting all the time? How is that NOT female friendly?
The analysis of self-important people saying ridulous things continues on page 2.
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It’s a tough subject as these people “can” have very good views or opinions, but there does feel like a certain level of disrespect towards blogs etc.
I think sometimes their level of journalism blows smoke in places there should not be smoke. It’s great to read a well thought out and often poetic article or review, but a lot of the time it can be pretentious and convoluted.
It’s the people on the bottom who hold up the people above and without us they fall and crumble. A little more respect should be shown.
^^ Wot ‘e said ^^
Leigh’s statement regarding journalists being lambs to the slaughter of hype could make sense: many of them gobble up so much shit that it’s now ingrained in their daily diet. And those poor folks can’t help it, right?… Right?
At least that kind of borked logic is useful for something – Comedy.
Great read.
I’m with you for the most part but I’ve found N’Gai Croal to generally be a pretty good writer; he writes monthly for EDGE here in the UK and never really seen him leaning over to the wrong side of pretentious.
True that these guys owe their jobs to the industry, but as opinionated writers they’re allowed to have opinions on what goes on.
Thanks for writing this Doc. It’s about time someone said it! I hate to bring politics into it, but I think instead of “douchy” It should have read “liberal”. The entitlement mentality and elitist sensibilities drive me insane. N’gai needs to let go of his “white guilt” and move on!
Also. I listen to a lot of podcasts at work and every time a major convention rolls around I cringe at how much whining is unleashed upon me. “so many meetings with talented game devs and getting to play new games gets ever so tiring. {sigh}” I remember when you guys went to E3 last year [great coverage by the way] and were excited and honored to be there while everyonr was sh****g all over it.
@yamster: Hmmm, don’t think N’Gai Croal is pretentious enough? Check out his goodbye column where he basically thanks himself for all the “good work” hes done for gaming… What a wank-fest piece of crap… Link: http://tinyurl.com/awa3gr
I mean, does anybody really think that anyone besides Garnett Lee thinks that what Croal has to say is important? Would he be where he is now, if he wasn’t with Newsweek? Honestly, who goes to Newsweek for their gaming coverage?
Alright Doc, we get it. You hate game reviewers and almost everything they say and write about with a passion
Doc, I love your site and I like you, but can you get off your own high horse for a bit and give us a break from the reviewer hate? It’s growing stale.
You want actually JOURNALISTIC work from GAME JOURNALISTS? Seriously? When I start seeing it from those who deliver the news to people again, then I worry about these twerps.
Ok, ok… Doc. You rule, but I really do think that’s asking a little much of these people concidering the people who deliver “real” news these days.
I hate to seem like I’m falling in line with current pop culture trends, but I’m with The Comedian. It’s all a joke, and no one is laughing.
I’m not taking sides here – I don’t know those reviewers personally, so I don’t know if I should be applauding their spirit of rebellion for having this forum while at GDC, or if I should be rolling my eyes at their self-centered attitude for having a forum on “things that need to change” and then only complaining about how they think they have it hard.
How does it elevate SG at all, however, to simply attempt to tear them down? Sure, I think people should be called on their crap. Journalism is a sham these days. People report what will get them headlines, not the truth. Gaming is no different. I think it’s a bit harsh and mean-spirited, however, to make it seem that these people are scum for merely complaining about their jobs. I currently work the best job I’ve ever had and I still find things to complain about; its human nature.
Lono assisted with title for this piece… I guess it was a little over the top but I stand by what I said. At some point during this whining marathon someone on that panel ought to have thanked the industry for their jobs and for making them journalists in the single most popular form of entertainment on earth. Obviously they aren’t as dumb as heather Chaplin makes them out to be. They beat frickin Hollywood last tear for chrisakes.
@ OMG
I would have to applaud them. What better place to have such a forum them the place where all the developers will be congregating? It is, simply put, the perfect location. If they feel that some things need to change, why are we blasting their first amendment right to voice those complaints?
And about gaming journalists complaining about aspects of their jobs, I agree that such a thing is human nature. I doubt there is a person out there who has no complaints about his or her job. However, we must also remember that we have no real idea what takes place behind professional journalism.
In this way I find some fault with the first part of this article. How much do any of us understand what it is like to review games for a living? It sounds good on paper, but there are many jobs that sound good but are not really that great.
Doc, you play what games you like and then talk about them on a free site and podcast. Reviewers don’t get to play Mass Effect, Bioshock or other great games all day, they have to analyze and dissect the entire game and then boil down the whole experience in a small amount of space. They also don’t just play the good but also the bad. Someone has to play Barbie: Horse Adventure. It’s not all fun and games, it is work.
@Kojin: Give me a break dude… First off, most people, including you are missing the point of Doc’s piece entirely. They’re not complaining about their job, their complaining about other people that do THEIR job better than they do. They made a panel to snipe at the “state of the video game enthusiast press “like they are the only ones that should have a voice.
Eff them. Yeah, that was me being juvenile…
Also, the 1st Amendment only protects them from the government, not Sarcastic Gamer.
How did/do y’all feel about EGM? To me, they always seemed to be legit. I know they got shut down (but the 1up show still lives on through the Co-Op video podcast, please check it out if you like the 1up Show, it’s got several of the dudes from the original show.), but do you feel as if they were legitimate or baloney?
Hey Doc, while I know the site is called “Sarcastic Gamer”, is it that hard for you to dial down the vitriol a few notches? I,for one, have never once had to roll out of my “sleep number bed every morning and slog over to your video game console and turn it on.” Actually, I bust my ass nearly every day working at my job … which just so happens to be covering games and comics as a journalist (and yeah, I said ‘journalist’).
This whole subject leaves a bad taste in my mouth because of people on the extreme ends of BOTH sides of the argument. On the one hand, you’ve got some people in the industry that are self-important, ego driven divas that have forgotten their role as informers to the public, and instead take the holier-than-thou approach that their word is gospel and those that don’t agree with you are ill-informed slugs who couldn’t be more wrong. On the other side of the argument are people like you in this article, who automatically discount the hard work put into this field, spouting out pure and unadulterated bullshit that all a game journalist does is sit on his ass all day playing games and making sure his lips are correctly positioned on the collective ass of the video game PR reps.
For the record, in my time as a journalist, I’ve butted heads with more than a few people. I’ve had reviews pulled because I refused to change what I thought of a game to please some higher up at a publisher. I’ve had more than my share of hate mail from fans of games I’ve written about telling me how I have “no business” writing about games. Hell, I’ve even even had to go a few rounds with everyone’s favorite video game version of Voldemort, Jack Thompson. Still, I get up each morning, grab my coffee, and get right back to work.
As far as reviews go, at the end of the day the truth of the matter is that ANY review is simply a single person’s point of view and opinion. I never try to tell people they need to think like I do. Instead, I try to put my viewpoint out there and to explain why I think what I do to the best of my ability. Sometimes people with agree with me and sometimes they don’t. And hey, it’s entirely possible that my opinion (like anyone else’s) could very well fall into the minority. Either way though, it’s still one point of view, which I do my best to qualify with the rest of the review. As far as PR influence and fueling the hype machine? At the end of the day, it’s MY reputation on the line … and I’m not going to compromise that for ANY amount of “Eggs Benedict”
The same goes for my news writing, of which I’ve done a hell of a lot more of the past few years as opposed to reviewing games. Covering the news usually means sorting through a daily avalanche of press releases, making calls to developers, PR reps, publishers, contacts, etc.; then picking apart what they’ve said and running it all through a bullshit filter, then trying to follow-up on it all, all while still trying to meet the deadlines to keep the news timely and the quota of having x number of stories posted daily to keep things humming along.
Of course, that’s skipping over the other bits of work, like setting up and scheduling interviews, pitching features, defending articles, juggling numbers, fact-checking sources, etc. You know, all that pesky “journalist” work. And on top of all of this, because this is a facet of the entertainment industry, we’ve got to make it interesting to read.
I just can’t help but find it funny that people bitch and moan that the video game industry doesn’t seem to be taken seriously, but in the same breath they want to bitch and moan about the people who do take it seriously.
Doc, I’m friends with some of the people involved with Sarcastic Gamer, and I’ve even tried to help ‘em out from time to time. I’ve also been following things here for a bit, and genuinely enjoy the site and what’s been done here. Think about all the hard work you guys have done to make this place come together … and imagine someone coming along and pissing in YOUR Corn Flakes, telling people that what YOU do amounts to nothing more than rolling out of bed, turning on a game console, cracking a couple of jokes, then patting yourself on the back and saying “Good job” before curling back up under that nice, warm blanket. You and I both know that’s a load of BS, and you’d be pretty irate about it.
Okay, I’m stepping off of my soapbox now. After all, it’s nearly 5:30 in the morning, and I haven’t yet Twittered my every move to slobbering fans and started writing about video games before getting my EA sponsored breakfast and catching my free flight to the Caymen Islands for a press junket. (Yes folks, I do use sarcasm as well)
That dog is awesome!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QsXrswJ-yM
Available until requested to be taken down…
Oh, also…
http://twitter.com/ncroal/statuses/1434121207
Hey man, that was my mark N’Gai was leaving. Get your facts straight!
@Lono
After reading your comments, that I did not understand what Doc was saying I read the article again. After doing so, I think what I said was still valid, as what I was mostly commention about in my @Doc dealt with the first paragraph.
“like they are the only ones that should have a voice. ” – Did the people on the fourm say they were the only ones who should have a voice? You’re judement here seems more emotional than factual.
“…the 1st Amendment only protects them from the government, not Sarcastic Gamer.” – I simply said that Doc seems to be lashing out at these people for saying what they think.
Lono, did you miss the point of my critique?
SG seems to be a plateform to throw hate on professional game journalism, and so many of the arguments against them seem driven by emotion. There is also much talk about these journalists being high and mighty and full of themselves, but again I see little actual evidence provided here and just more emotional outbursts. Truth be told, I find it somewhat tiring.
Doc, Lono, can you please give those of us without a vendetta against gaming journalists a break?
Doc, you are a fucking genius. You too Lono, since you helped.
There’s a reason game journalism is the way it is. It’s because journalism is a dying art, in case anyone hasn’t noticed. Not only are 99% of game journalists not actually trained in the art of journalism, most of them don’t even know how to write a fucking proper email. It’s a wonder they manage to play games in their parents basement with all the Britney Spears music and root beer they ingest.
How do I know this? I used to be one of them.
I’ve never been classically trained, if you will, nor have I taken a single journalism class. All the learning I’ve done is experience based. I’ve forgone free airplane trips and nice hotels, paid my way to conventions, and taken up offers. It’s part of being a journalist, no matter what you do. Accepting anything automatically biases you, including taking free games. Sure, that’s hard to avoid since it’s nearly impossible to get something before it comes out, but you take what you can get.
Most game journalists today live off their parents and just want free games. Oh, and they write something. You know, a few scribbled notes cobbled together into sentences that aren’t worth the fucking free internet the majority of their readers use.
Hell, most are intimidated by game developers and publishers. I know guys who can’t call and confirm news, who don’t have the confidence or credibility or anything to even say what they are actually thinking.
So yeah, Totilo is right. You have to find good journalism…that’s the price we pay for having an open medium that anyone can plug an ethernet cable into their combined asses and excrete their shit into. It sucks horrendously.
Thankfully, we’ve got sites like this. No one gets to the point the best than a good comedian. Thanks for the read! Glad I went to pages 2 and 3!
just listned to ngai or whats his name is on podcast for the last two weeks one was listenup and a few others. Can one man suck his own dick so hard and every time i listen to him im waiting for him to tell us why where racist for playing this game listen to him on listenup his whole re5 argument is stupid useless and pointless and as a journalist he should be held to a stand erd but hes not im going tru college for english right now and im sur ill be fLAMED MORE FOR the mistake i am than he will cause im not a name you see every day. Catch 22
Long I know but I dont get paid for this so I can screw up ergo im broke
I agree with Kojin here.
While I may not agree with everything said during the GDC rant, I think it’s still far more compelling, challenging, and engaging than SG is giving it credit for. Frankly, I think there’s a serious disconnect between what was said, and your interpretation, as if you went into this with a chip on your shoulder to begin with, because you consequently arrive at some truly head scratching conclusions. (i.e. I don’t think many casual gamers even heard of Croal, let alone be the demographic responsible for his success)
And I don’t understand why game journalists should thank the industry. Do movie critics thank the film industry? I write for film, and not once have I been thanked, nor have I ever expected the gesture. Journalists create buzz for these products, and the industry needs them, so it’s very much a two way relationship.
Other sites have formed retorts towards the panel, but do so in a way that promotes dialogue and discussion, whereas here at SG, the aim reeks of “holier than thou” airs, as if intending to shut down the conversation completely, because after all, these journalists are “douches”, right? And what “douche” is worth listening to?
*Yawns… I change my mind and take it all back. I now think the GDC conference was one of the most important things that ever happened in gaming…. ever ever.
@Doc
I am disappointed. Instead of making reasonable arguments to back up what you have said, you and Lono are simply making fun of the points that were laid against your article. I honestly believed you and SG better than that. I am sorry that I was wrong.
To be fair, I don’t think anyone is inferring that the GDC rant was anything important per say. I’m just saying I found it interesting. You obviously didn’t, and that’s absolutely fine; I certainly didn’t set out to change your mind. We have different opinions on the matter, and I think that’s okay.
As do I. Doc is entitled to his opinions, as is Lono and everyone else here. However, what I do not think is okay is Doc dismissing my or your opinion Interlink so casually and with what I perceive as disdain.
I expressed my opinions without being juvenile against anyone else here; I would appreciate the same courtesy in return.
yes, Kojin, we get it, you think that Doc was too “emotional” in this response.
So, that begs the question: So what? So what if he had an emotional response?
Your second blip was “Did the people on the fourm say they were the only ones who should have a voice? You’re judement here seems more emotional than factual.”
Doc was implying that most of the panel members were acting high and mighty, *like* they *should* be the only ones with a voice because they’re *journalists* and the rest of us can go to hell.
that’s my take anyway.
Oh yeah, by the way, try getting N’Gai or Totilio or Alexander to partake in the comments made on their articles… yeah, good luck. They’re “above that.”
Where have N’Gai or Totilio or Alexander said that they are “above that” in regards to commenting on their articles. I would be interested in seeing that for myself.
I also don’t have issue with Doc being emotional in his article. I just would like to have some basis for his claims then simply “emotional outbursts”.
I was brought us to always check your sources, so I just want to see the basis behind Doc’s and you claims. I like Doc, but I’m not going to blindly accept what he has to say without having some basis behind it.
I find it funny how women only complain about the “male dominance” in high profile, high money industries.
I have yet to see any woman up in arms because all the ditches are being dug by men and that’s just not fair.